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As the 49ers discovered in August, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will blitz during the preseason.

But that’s nothing. San Francisco center Jonathan Goodwin, who spent two seasons with Williams in New Orleans, makes it sound as if Williams is dialing up an exotic blitz while you’re reading this sentence.

“To me, I was used to it,” Goodwin said of the Saints’ pressure-heavy scheme in a 24-3 exhibition win against San Francisco on Aug. 12. “It was Gregg Williams. Greg blitzes like crazy. It would be a run period in practice and Gregg would blitz. For me, it was what I was used to. That’s Gregg.”

It’s safe to assume Williams won’t pull back on the throttle when the 49ers host the Saints on Saturday in a divisional playoff game at Candlestick Park.

As San Francisco knows after allowing six first-half sacks in the preseason, each one to a different defender, Williams is likely to bring pressure from all angles. Fourteen Saints have at least one sack this season and safety Roman Harper led the team with 7.5 during the regular season. Defensive end Will Smith ranks second on the team with 6.5. Both Harper and Smith are former Pro Bowlers.

“They blitz in a variety of different ways,” Niners left tackle Joe Staley said. “It’s not just a couple blitzes that are going to be coming. Their personnel are also very good. A lot of people don’t give them credit. They think it’s all scheme, but their players are very good.”

New Orleans’ 4-3 defense might be blitz-heavy, but it isn’t one of the NFL’s elite units.

The Saints ranked 24th in yards allowed per game (368.4), 13th in points allowed (21.2) and the evidence suggests they were often burned in their high-risk, high-reward scheme. For all its pressure, New Orleans ranked tied for 19th in the NFL with 33 sacks and was tied for 28th in interceptions (nine). The Saints also allowed 14 passing plays of 40 yards or more, the most in the league.

“Any time a team is blitzing heavily, you’re going to look to hit them with those big pass plays down the field and try to get them out of their blitz,” 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams said. “Any time you get a chance to help your offensive line out by making those big pass plays down the field is good.”

It’s possible the Niners will welcome the blitz given quarterback Alex Smith’s success against pressure this season.

Smith’s quarterback rating against the blitz (96.3) ranked third in the NFL this season behind Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (131.4) and New England’s Tom Brady (110.9). He completed 90 of 152 passes for 1,097 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception against blitzes.

Smith and the offense have clearly matured since the preseason meeting in New Orleans. Smith acknowledged the opportunities for big passing plays the second time around.

“Obviously you’ve got some chances to make plays,” Smith said. “They’re good at it. They’ve been doing it so long.”

Despite Smith’s success against pressure this season, 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers, who spent three seasons with Williams in Washington from 2005-07, expects his old defensive coordinator to keep the pressure coming Saturday.

This time around, the 49ers say they will be ready.

“They’re going to have to stop that blitzing attack,” Rogers said. “That’s what Gregg does. I know him. Alex is not throwing for 300, 400 yards. He’s going to stop that running game and blitz and make Alex win it.”